WJPA Sports

Eight Washington/Greene County softball teams get their post-seasons underway today. The opening rounds of the WPIAL playoffs wrap up with 1A, 2A & 3A softball first-round games, four of which we’ll carry live on WJPA-AM and online.  Watch/Listen Here  Baseball playoffs are on hold until the quarterfinals start on Monday along with several classes of softball quarterfinals. WPIAL Softball Brackets  WPIAL Baseball Brackets .

Thursday, May 14–Softball First Round 
2:45 pm 3A #5 McGuffey vs. #12 Hopewell at Montour, WJPA.com Watch/Listen Here
2:45 pm 1A #5 Jeff-Morgan vs. #12 Leechburg at Gateway
3:00 pm 3A #11 Charleroi vs. #6 Burrell at Norwin
4:45 pm 2A #3 Bentworth vs. #14 Burgettstown at Trinity Middle School, WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here
4:45 pm 1A #11 Beth-Center vs. #6 South Side Beaver at Waynesburg University, WJPA.com Watch/Listen Here
6:45 pm 2A #2 Chartiers-Houston vs. #15 Wash High at Trinity Middle School, WJPA-AM (1450) Watch/Listen Here

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Endy Rodriguez celebrated his return to the majors in style, driving in a pair of runs as Pittsburgh cruised past Colorado 7-2. Rodriguez was once considered one of Pittsburgh’s top prospects before a pair of elbow injuries forced him to miss most of the last two seasons. Filling in for injured Joey Bart, Rodriguez doubled off starter Chase Dollander in the second and laced a two-run single in the third for Pittsburgh. Dollander struggled before exiting early in the second inning with tightness in his right arm. Troy Johnston hit a two-run double for Colorado.

DENVER (AP) — Brett Kulak scored 3:52 into overtime after Nathan MacKinnon tied it late in regulation and the Colorado Avalanche advanced to the Western Conference final with a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild in Game 5 on Wednesday night. Kulak capped a wild comeback for the Avalanche, who trailed 3-0 midway through the second period. Colorado moves on to the conference final for an eighth time since relocating to Denver in 1995-96. The Avalanche will face the winner of Vegas and Anaheim. The Golden Knights lead that series 3-2. With Minnesota up 3-1, Jack Drury scored with 3:33 remaining to set the stage for MacKinnon’s goal with 1:23 left. In overtime, Martin Necas took the puck, glided behind the net and back out front, where he found an open Kulak.

TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired coach Craig Berube after he guided the team to a last-place finish in the Atlantic Division this season. The move ended Berube’s two-year run with the Maple Leafs. He helped the club to a 108-point campaign in his first season as coach, but Toronto struggled mightily in 2025-26. New general manager John Chayka called Wednesday’s move “an opportunity for a fresh start” rather than an evaluation of Berube. Berube went 84-62-18 with Toronto, but the Maple Leafs were just 32-36-14 this season. The drop in points from 108 to 78 was the team’s largest year-over-year points decline.

DETROIT (AP) — James Harden scored a playoff-best 30 points and Donovan Mitchell had 21, helping the Cleveland Cavaliers come back from a nine-point deficit late in regulation and beat the Detroit Pistons 117-113 in overtime to take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Pistons led by 15 points in the first half and 103-94 with two-plus minutes left. The Cavs rallied and pulled into a 103-all tie on Evan Mobley’s free throws with 45.2 seconds left. Cleveland went on a 13-0 run and held Detroit scoreless for five minutes from late in fourth quarter to midway through overtime.